Malcom X once said, “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” Your company’s culture is a proclamation of what it stands for.

For all the human capital spent managing budgets, planning the new year’s activities or implementing another project, the results will not please those sitting at the top of the hierarchy.

Can great things happen in a neglected culture? Sure. However, unnecessary calories are burned just doing the necessities in business: manage, lead, produce.

Certainly signs of high turnover or inability to fill key positions can be symptoms of a culture unintentionally created. Here, though, are more insidious signs. Insidious because they are likely to be considered the norm, or “just how things are done around here.” They are all too often a byproduct of a neglected culture:

Malcom X once said, “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” Your company’s culture is a proclamation of what it stands for. Slowly, imperceptibly your culture devolves into a toxic mess that chases away those with the stamina and willingness to redirect the neglected culture.

What does your company stand for if its culture is shaped by neglect?

Certainly a tough question to face. But one worth the investment in time and energy.
Knowing what your culture stands for can be liberating, exhilarating, inspiring, and certainly motivating.

This article was published by Shawn Murphy. It originally appeared on SAP and has been republished with permission.